Council chiefs put case to save courts

Council chiefs are taking their fight to save Salford magistrates court to the government. Town hall bosses will be at the Ministry of Justice today arguing against the closure of the Bexley Square court.

Council chiefs are taking their fight to save Salford magistrates court to the government.

Town hall bosses will be at the Ministry of Justice today arguing against the closure of the Bexley Square court.

The government says the Grade-II listed building, off Chapel Street, isn’t busy enough.

All cases would be moved to the nearby Manchester Civil Justice Centre, creating the largest magistrates court in England.

But Salford council will tell courts minister Jonathan Djanogly that the plans are based on out-of-date figures.

And they say they have alternative plans which would be cheaper.

Council bosses also claim their proposals are backed by the local community, magistrates and probation and youth offending services.

They want to spend around £4m repairing the building with all hearings being held in one section. This would allow other parts of the building to be rented out, generating income.

Deputy council leader Dave Lancaster said: "This is not just us saying we want to keep a 1,000-year-old tradition or that we don’t want to become the only city in the country without its own magistrates court.

"We are saying keeping the court in Salford is better for the administration of local justice and better for the taxpayer’s purse." The council say there has been a court in the city for more than 1,000 years and claim it is busier than ‘90 per cent of the other courts on the at risk list’.

Parts of the building, which used to be Salford town hall, date from 1825 and are in urgent need of modernisation. Previous plans for a new court building in Eccles were scrapped by then Home Secretary Jack Straw.

Coun Lancaster said: "In the current economic climate, we can’t realistically expect a new court building and this is the next best option for the city."

In June the government announced plans to close 103 magistrates courts and 54 country courts in England and Wales.

Rochdale magistrates court and Bury County Court are also under threat.